Obsidian: Retribution (Book 2)

Fifty-Nine: A Deadly Gift

For the record, he'd slept with both Raj's wives the last time he was in Samarra, but for the sake of manliness and reputation, you didn't tell anyone it had been more about the feud between the two women than your charm, or your mother about how it had ended with a rather vigorous threesome, which did resolve the conflict for the two wives. His failure to come up with a respectable answer in a timely manner, of course, hadn't escaped his mother's notice, which led to her telling him to just write them both a letter.

They were relatively young women, and more accurately the Raj's second and fourth wife. Both of whom, however, and at the time, prided themselves as the trophy wives of their Raj. Just as the Raj competed with each other for control over the ports, the wives also did over the reputation of who among them were more beautiful, more skilled in bed, more often showered with gifts, and had more of their Raj's attention. So when the infamous Shakshi prince from the Black Tower had declined a dinner invitation from the winning one (he simply hadn't wanted to be caught in another mess), the runners up had gone out of her way to get him to dine with her instead.

One thing led to another, and by the end of the week the Raj were in on it. The two women had, with their extraordinary skills and influence, managed to convince the two Raj that their failure to catch the Shakshi Prince's attention would reflect badly on their husband's reputation, making whoever loses this competition the man with the lesser wife. And because a prince was involved, one could assume said reputation would be publicly known, perhaps all the way to Rasharwi, perhaps the entire Salasar, if not also talked about on Raviyani in a Kha'gan somewhere.

They couldn't live with that, of course, especially when most Raj and men of power tended to collect wives mostly for pleasure and reputation. It wouldn't be the first time some had gone so far as to share theirs with another influential figure to prove and elevate the value of the woman they possessed. It was a matter of status, and long story short, both Raj had decided having a wife who could seduce the Salar's favorite Shakshi son with a reputation among women of the capital looked good on their resume.

He was supposed to know best, they had said, if a woman exceeded the standard of being desirable in bed. It was, however, more important to the wives of these men to achieve such status than their husbands. They'd married for security, comfort, and gems, and being the most prized possession of their husbands was the key to not be left out of the family's fortune. It was simply sex, in the end, and the only Shakshi tradition the entire Salasar wanted to adapt was the freedom of changing bed partners every Raviyani. It had become a trend lately, among both men and women, and one that was growing quickly in popularity.

Long story short, he had gotten caught in the mess, and the only way his decision wouldn't start a war between the Raj in Samarra (which would have pissed off his father then) was to please both women and kept their Raj's reputation even. And so he'd thrown the banquet himself, invited both parties, and bedded both women, while bringing in the two most expensive escorts from Rasharwi to entertain their husbands that night. Everyone left happy, and he still owed Deo a lot of money for making it happen, with interest.

He decided his father was going to wake up and pay off that debt for the two letters he'd finished writing. It might make a difference, or it might not, depending on their current influence on their husband, and the impression he'd left on them the last time they met, or bedded, to be more precise. He never thought the world could be changed or shaped that way, over things that had happened a long time ago, sometimes ones you thought had been a mistake, or a misfortune.

He hoped that was the case with Djari, that every misfortune they'd encountered along the way had its role in changing the future. He signed and sealed the letter, called one of the guards to take them to Akshay who would make sure they arrived discreetly and in time.